“State prisons across the U.S. are failing to treat at least 144,000 inmates who have hepatitis C, a curable but potentially fatal liver disease, according to a recent survey and subsequent interviews of state corrections departments.
Many of the 49 states that responded to questions about inmates with hepatitis C cited high drug prices as the reason for denying treatment. The drugs can cost up to $90,000 for a course of treatment.
Nationwide, roughly 97 percent of inmates with hepatitis C are not getting the cure, according to the survey conducted for a master’s project at the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Advocates say this ignores a 1976 Supreme Court ruling that determined an inmate’s medical care is a constitutional right.”
Read more at: https://www.thedailybeast.com/state-prisons-fail-to-offer-cure-to-144000-inmates-with-deadly-hepatitis-c
Source: The DailyBeast.com – July 5, 2018
See related article on incarceration and MAT: Giving addicted inmates opioid meds behind bars can reduce overdose deaths. Why don’t more jails use them available at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-jail-inmates-opioid-addiction-20180703-story.html#
